Point - Counterpoint

If you already convinced that Israel is working against its best interests, read Nicholas Kristof's Op Ed in the NY Times "Tough Love for Israel," and go no further.

But if you can entertain the possibility that Palestinian terrorism and rejectionism has at least something to do with the lack of peace, take a look at CAMERA's rebuttal to Kristof.

Among the more interesting arguments examined by Kristof and CAMERA has to do with comparisons between the situations in Northern Ireland and the Palestinian/Israeli conflicts:

Kristof: Peace-making invariably involves exasperating and intransigent antagonists and unequal steps, just as it did in the decades in which Britain struggled to end terrorism emanating from Northern Ireland. But London never ordered air strikes on Sinn Fein or walled in Catholic neighborhoods. Over time, Britain's extraordinary restraint slowly changed attitudes so as to make the eventual peace possible.

CAMERA Note: "London never walled in Catholic neighborhoods?" Apparently Kristof's expertise does not extend to Northern Ireland either. There are walls (or so-called "peace lines" ) running throughout Belfast, separating Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods.

Here's one photo of such a wall in west Belfast:

http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/images/photos/belfast/peaceline/peaceline1.htm

In addition, Kristof ignores the fact that the two conflicts are completely different: England wasn't fighting to protect its homeland from utter destruction. Sinn Fein sought to oust the British from Northern Ireland, not from England itself, while the Palestinian extremists seek to annihilate Israel. That is, Kristof has once again created his own reality.

Furthermore, Israel has been extremely restrained in the face of relentless terror attacks. Building a separation barrier has reduced terrorism and therefore (prior to the escalation of rocket attacks against Israel), the need for large-scale counter-attacks.

That notwithstanding, it is highly questionable whether it was British "restraint" that made peace possible. Google that conflict and you'll find many theories.

The AP just can't figure it out.

Meryl Yourish is good at identifying AP bias. Here's her take on a current AP report, as published in many papers including the DM Register. //Mark
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Yourish: Let’s look at the headline that’s been going around since last night about a large, deadly explosion in Gaza:

Unexplained explosions kill 5, wound 20 in Gaza

Isn’t it interesting how the AP is so tentative about assigning blame to this attack? Funny how they’re usually so quick to blame Israel, quoting Palestinian eyewitnesses and terrorist spokesmen, yet here they are, half a day later, and the best they can come up with is “Unexplained explosions” in this headline. Hm. Why is it they would suddenly become so leery of assigning blame?

A powerful explosion ripped through a car on a busy Gaza City beach Friday night, killing a Hamas field commander and three other people, security officials said.

It was the third unexplained blast of the day in this coastal territory after a relatively calm period since Israel and the Islamic militants of Hamas agreed on a cease-fire last month. A total of five people died from the explosions, and 23 suffered injuries.

Wow, it’s the third mystery blast of the day. The crack AP staff can’t figure out who’s behind them. I wonder why that is? (Hint: Because Israel didn’t do it?) And by this time in an AP lead, you generally learn if any children were killed. The “three other people” in this lead are civilians, of course, one of them a child.

No one in Gaza blamed Israel for the violence, indicating it was likely Palestinian infighting.

Oh, how nice of the AP to explain this to us. It’s “likely” that it was Palestinian “infighting.” That’s a cute name for civil war.

The late night blast killed Amar Musubah, a Hamas military field commander, and another Hamas militant, Eyad Al-Hia, medical officials said. A child and a fourth unknown individual also died.

Earlier, unknown assailants set off two bombs in Gaza City, killing one man.

Finally, the child is mentioned, and yet, there is no age given. If this were a story about Israel causing civilian casualties, by now you would know the names and ages of all the victims, soon to be followed by mournful quotes from their relatives, and calls for revenge from terrorists. Funny how the AP writer can’t find this information out when the dead aren’t killed by Israeli fire.

And now, waaaay down in the story, the AP tries to assign blame for the blasts. Guess who they blame first, backhandedly?

Gaza is the scene of regular bloodshed between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, though the territory has been quiet over the past month because of the truce between Israel and the territory’s Hamas rulers.

Uh-huh. “Regular bloodshed”—what a quaint way of putting the fighting between soldiers and terrorists. Now that we’ve got the blame-Israel-first thing out of the way, we have the real suspect, and note the difference in phrasing:

Gaza is also a common site of internal Palestinian violence between Hamas and Fatah. Hamas fighters defeated Fatah forces during five days of combat in Gaza a year ago, and tensions remain high.

It’s “bloodshed” when Israelis are fighting, but only “violence” when Palestinians fight each other. Now, the AP might tell you that they’re simply trying not to repeat the same word in two paragraphs, but there are many, many words other than “violence” that you can use for the fighting between Hamas and Fatah that resulted in over 100 deaths, including many civilians. Like, “civil war.” But then, when you’re the AP, you have to keep the narrative, and exposing the murderous actions of Palestinian-on-Palestinian “violence” isn’t sticking to the narrative of the peaceful victims of Israeli agression that only want to be left alone to build their state in peace and happiness, forever and ever.

Yet another example of the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel media bias.

Iran ends cooperation with UN nuclear arms probe

By GEORGE JAHN
The Associated Press Thursday, July 24, 2008; 5:16 PM [excerpt]

VIENNA, Austria -- Iran signaled Thursday that it will no longer cooperate with U.N. experts probing for signs of clandestine nuclear weapons work, confirming the investigation is at a dead end a year after it began.

What is the basis for Saudi-influenced education about Jews?

"The Qu'ran describes the Jews with their own particular degenerate characteristics"

Is this the basis for Saudi-influenced education worldwide?

By Mark Finkelstein


Summary:
1. Current Saudi textbooks used in the U.S. and worldwide include “slurs” directed toward non-Muslims, including Jews.
2. Prominent Islamic fundamentalist theologians teach that the Qur’an describes the Jews with their own “particular degenerate characteristics.”
3. A fundamentalistic Islamic scholar lists 20 “bad traits” of the Jews and identifies the Quranic verse justifying each trait.

A. As reported previously, a Washington Post review of Saudi textbooks (2006) being taught at a Saudi-funded academy in Virginia revealed the presence of “slurs” directed towards other religions. ( Washington Post, July 15, 2008)

In addition, a study conducted by a different organization purportedly “shows [in detail] that the same violent and intolerant teachings against other religious believers noted in 2006 remain in the current texts.”

B. One important question related to this topic has to be: what’s behind the “slurs?” What is the basis of the defamation of non-Muslims, and in particular, Jews, by Saudi-influenced fundamentalist Muslims?

Undeniably, there is material in the Quran which praises Jews and material that deprecates Jews. >None of this would matter much at all if it weren’t the case that the deprecatory material is still being included in textbooks worldwide, including, apparently, within the United States

C. Where does defense of the defamatory material come from? From the leadership of the most traditional, fundamentalistic Islamic insitutions.

For example, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, perhaps the most influential cleric of the majority (Sunni) sect of Islam [Grand imam of Al-Azhar University], has written (and presumably still stands by his pronouncement):

[The] Qur’an describes the Jews with their own particular degenerate characteristics, i.e. killing the prophets of Allah, corrupting His words by putting them in the wrong places, consuming the people’s wealth frivolously, refusal to distance themselves from the evil they do, and other ugly characteristics caused by their deep-rooted lasciviousness…only a minority of the Jews keep their word….[A]ll Jews are not the same. The good ones become Muslims, the bad ones do not. (Qur’an 3:113)

Source: Banu Isra’il fi al-Qur’an wa al-Sunna [Jews in the Koran and the Traditions], 1986 edition. By Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi. English translation by Dr. Michael Schub. As cited by Bostom

D. Rather than simply assert what Imam Tantawi is alluding to, in stating that the Quran describes the permanent, particular degenerate characteristics of Jews, here is a 2004 listing of twenty “bad traits” of the Jews, each identified with a Quranic verse by the author of the listing, a Sheikh ‘Atiyyah Saqer, former head of the Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee. (Cited as an authority by Islamic sources )

Here, first, is Sheikh Saqer’s prefatory comment as to how to understand the material he presents:

"The Qur'an has specified a considerable deal of its verses to talking about Jews, their personal qualities and characteristics. The Qur'anic description of Jews is quite impartial; praising them in some occasions where they deserve praise and condemning them in other occasions where they practice blameworthy acts. Yet, the latter occasions outnumbered the former, due to their bad qualities and the heinous acts they used to commit. The Qur'an praises them on the verse that reads: ' And verily We gave the Children of Israel the Scripture and the Command and the Prophethood, and provided them with good things and favored them above (all) peoples.' (Al-Jathiyah:16) i.e. the peoples of their time." …. "All this gives us glad tidings of the coming victory of Muslims over [the Jews], as soon as Muslims cling to strong faith and belief in Allah and adopt modern means of technology."

Saqr then lists the following 20 "bad traits" of the Jews, as they appear in the Qur'an: [As documented by MEMRI](2004)

1. "They used to fabricate things and falsely ascribe them to Allah. Allah Almighty says: 'That is because they say: We have no duty to the Gentiles. They knowingly speak a lie concerning Allah.' (Al-'Imran: 75) Also: 'The Jews say: Allah's hand is fettered. [But it is] their hands that are fettered and they are accursed for saying [Allah's hands are fettered]. Nay, but both His hands are spread out wide in bounty. He bestoweth as He will' (Al-Ma'idah: 64) In another verse, Almighty Allah says: 'Verily, Allah heard the words of those who said, (when asked for contributions to the war): 'Allah, forsooth, is poor, and we are rich! We shall record their words with their wrongful slaying of the Prophets and we shall say: Taste ye the punishment of burning!' (Al-'Imran: 181)

2. "They love to listen to lies. Concerning this Allah says: 'And of the Jews: listeners for the sake of falsehood, listeners on behalf of other folk.' (Al-Ma'idah: 41)

3. "Disobeying Almighty Allah and never observing His commands. Allah says: 'And because they broke their covenant, We have cursed them and hardened their hearts.' (Al-Ma'idah: 13)

4. "Disputing and quarreling. This is clear in the verse that reads: 'Their Prophet said unto them: Lo! Allah hath raised up Saul to be a king for you. They said: How can he have kingdom over us when we are more deserving of the kingdom than he is, since he hath not been given wealth enough?' (Al-Baqarah: 247)

5. "Hiding the truth and supporting deception. This can be understood from the verse that reads: '… [They] distort the Scripture with their tongues, that ye may think that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture.' (Al-'Imran: 78)

6. "Rebelling against the Prophets and rejecting their guidance. This is clear in the verse: 'And when ye said: O Moses! We will not believe in thee till we see Allah plainly.' (Al-Baqarah: 55)

7. "Hypocrisy. In a verse, we read: 'And when they fall in with those who believe, they say: We believe; but when they go apart to their devils they declare: Lo! we are with you; verily we did but mock.' (Al-Baqarah: 14) In another verse, we read: 'Enjoin ye righteousness upon mankind while ye yourselves forget (to practice it)? And ye are readers of the Scripture! Have ye then no sense?' (Al-Baqarah: 44)

8. "Giving preference to their own interests over the rulings of religion and the dictates of truth. Allah says [to the Jews]: '… When there cometh unto you a messenger (from Allah) with that which ye yourselves desire not, ye grow arrogant, and some ye disbelieve and some ye slay?' (Al-Baqarah: 87)

9. "Wishing evil for people and trying to mislead them. This is clear in the verse that reads: 'Many of the People of the Book long to make you disbelievers after your belief, through envy on their own account, after the truth hath become manifest unto them.' (Al-Baqarah: 109)

10. "They feel pain to see others in happiness and are gleeful when others are afflicted with a calamity. This is clear in the verse that reads: 'If a lucky chance befall you, it is evil unto them, and if disaster strike you they rejoice thereat.' (Al-'Imran: 120)

11. "They are known for their arrogance and haughtiness. They claim to be the sons and of Allah and His beloved ones. Allah tells us about this in the verse that reads: 'The Jews and Christians say: We are sons of Allah and His loved ones.' (Al-Ma'idah: 18)

12. "Utilitarianism and opportunism are among their innate traits. This is clear in the verse that reads: 'And of their taking usury when they were forbidden it, and of their devouring people's wealth by false pretences.' (An-Nisa': 161)

13. "Their rudeness and vulgarity is beyond description. Referring to this, the Qur'anic verse reads: 'Some of those who are Jews change words from their context and say: We hear and disobey; hear thou as one who heareth not, and Listen to us!, distorting with their tongues and slandering religion. If they had said: We hear and we obey; hear thou, and look at us, it had been better for them, and more upright. But Allah hath cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, save for a few.' (An-Nisa':46)

14. "It is easy for them to slay people and kill innocents. Nothing in the world is dearer to their hearts than shedding blood and murdering human beings. They never give up this trait even with the Messengers and the Prophets. Allah says: '… And [they] slew the prophets wrongfully.' (Al-Baqarah: 61)

15. "They are merciless and heartless. In this meaning, the Qur'anic verse explains: 'Then, even after that, your hearts were hardened and became as rocks, or worse than rocks, for hardness.' (Al-Baqarah: 74)

16. "They never keep their promises or fulfill their words. Almighty Allah says: Is it ever so that when ye make a covenant, a party of you violates it?' The truth is, most of them believe not.' (Al-Baqarah: 100)

17. "They rush hurriedly to sin and compete in transgression. Allah says: 'They restrained not one another from the wickedness they did. Verily, evil was what they used to do!' (Al-Ma'idah: 79)

18. "Cowardice and love for this worldly life are undisputable traits [of the Jews]. It is to this that the Qur'an refers when saying: 'Ye [Muslims] are more awful as fear in their [the Jews'] bosoms than Allah. That is because they are people who understand not. They will not fight against you in a group save in fortified villages or from behind walls. Their adversity among themselves is very great. Ye think of them as a whole whereas their hearts are diverse.' (Al-Hashr: 13-14) Allah Almighty also says: 'And thou wilt find them greediest of mankind for life and (greedier) than the idolaters.' (Al-Baqarah: 96)

19. "Miserliness runs deep in their hearts. Describing this, the Qur'an states: 'Or have they even a share in the Sovereignty? Then in that case, they would not give mankind even the speck on a date stone.' (An-Nisa': 53)

20. "Distorting Divine Revelation and Allah's Sacred Books. Allah says in this regard: 'Therefore woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands and say, 'This is from Allah,' that they may purchase a small gain therewith. Woe unto them for what their hands have written, and woe unto them for what they earn thereby.' (Al-Baqara: 79)
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Notes: 1. There are 114 suras or major divisions in the Quran. The names of each major division ( e.g., Al-Baqara) may be assigned a number. Therefore Al-Baqara: 79 can be expressed as sura 2, verse 79. In the text above, here are the numbers that correspond with the names of the suras listed;

Al-Imram = sura 3; Al Maidah = sura 5; Al Baqarah= sura 2; An- Nisa’ = sura 4;
Al Hashr =sura 59

2. You can look up each sura and verse in an online Quran, with several English translations. One resource is http://www.al-islam.org/Quran/ For example, you can look up 2: 79 with the search engine on the webpage.

Benny Morris: Tehran should hope that Israel can disable its nuclear weapons program with use of conventional weaponry

Using Bombs to Stave off War
By BENNY MORRIS, Li-On, Israel Op Ed in the NY Times July 18, 2008

ISRAEL will almost surely attack Iran’s nuclear sites in the next four to seven months

— and the leaders in Washington and even Tehran should hope that the attack will be successful enough to cause at least a significant delay in the Iranian production schedule, if not complete destruction, of that country’s nuclear program.

Because if the attack fails, the Middle East will almost certainly face a nuclear war — either through a subsequent pre-emptive Israeli nuclear strike or a nuclear exchange shortly after Iran gets the bomb.

It is in the interest of neither Iran nor the United States (nor, for that matter, the rest of the world) that Iran be savaged by a nuclear strike, or that both Israel and Iran suffer such a fate. We know what would ensue: a traumatic destabilization of the Middle East with resounding political and military consequences around the globe, serious injury to the West’s oil supply and radioactive pollution of the earth’s atmosphere and water.

But should Israel’s conventional assault fail to significantly harm or stall the Iranian program, a ratcheting up of the Iranian-Israeli conflict to a nuclear level will most likely follow. Every intelligence agency in the world believes the Iranian program is geared toward making weapons, not to the peaceful applications of nuclear power. And, despite the current talk of additional economic sanctions, everyone knows that such measures have so far led nowhere and are unlikely to be applied with sufficient scope to cause Iran real pain, given Russia’s and China’s continued recalcitrance and Western Europe’s (and America’s) ambivalence in behavior, if not in rhetoric. Western intelligence agencies agree that Iran will reach the “point of no return” in acquiring the capacity to produce nuclear weapons in one to four years.

Which leaves the world with only one option if it wishes to halt Iran’s march toward nuclear weaponry: the military option, meaning an aerial assault by either the United States or Israel. Clearly, America has the conventional military capacity to do the job, which would involve a protracted air assault against Iran’s air defenses followed by strikes on the nuclear sites themselves. But, as a result of the Iraq imbroglio, and what is rapidly turning into the Afghan imbroglio, the American public has little enthusiasm for wars in the Islamic lands. This curtails the White House’s ability to begin yet another major military campaign in pursuit of a goal that is not seen as a vital national interest by many Americans.

Which leaves only Israel — the country threatened almost daily with destruction by Iran’s leaders. Thus the recent reports about Israeli plans and preparations to attack Iran (the period from Nov. 5 to Jan. 19 seems the best bet, as it gives the West half a year to try the diplomatic route but ensures that Israel will have support from a lame-duck White House).

The problem is that Israel’s military capacities are far smaller than America’s and, given the distances involved, the fact that the Iranian sites are widely dispersed and underground, and Israel’s inadequate intelligence, it is unlikely that the Israeli conventional forces, even if allowed the use of Jordanian and Iraqi airspace (and perhaps, pending American approval, even Iraqi air strips) can destroy or perhaps significantly delay the Iranian nuclear project.

Nonetheless, Israel, believing that its very existence is at stake — and this is a feeling shared by most Israelis across the political spectrum — will certainly make the effort. Israel’s leaders, from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert down, have all explicitly stated that an Iranian bomb means Israel’s destruction; Iran will not be allowed to get the bomb.

The best outcome will be that an Israeli conventional strike, whether failed or not — and, given the Tehran regime’s totalitarian grip, it may not be immediately clear how much damage the Israeli assault has caused — would persuade the Iranians to halt their nuclear program, or at least persuade the Western powers to significantly increase the diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran.

But the more likely result is that the international community will continue to do nothing effective and that Iran will speed up its efforts to produce the bomb that can destroy Israel. The Iranians will also likely retaliate by attacking Israel’s cities with ballistic missiles (possibly topped with chemical or biological warheads); by prodding its local clients, Hezbollah and Hamas, to unleash their own armories against Israel; and by activating international Muslim terrorist networks against Israeli and Jewish — and possibly American — targets worldwide (though the Iranians may at the last moment be wary of provoking American military involvement).

Such a situation would confront Israeli leaders with two agonizing, dismal choices. One is to allow the Iranians to acquire the bomb and hope for the best — meaning a nuclear standoff, with the prospect of mutual assured destruction preventing the Iranians from actually using the weapon. The other would be to use the Iranian counterstrikes as an excuse to escalate and use the only means available that will actually destroy the Iranian nuclear project: Israel’s own nuclear arsenal.

Given the fundamentalist, self-sacrificial mindset of the mullahs who run Iran, Israel knows that deterrence may not work as well as it did with the comparatively rational men who ran the Kremlin and White House during the cold war. They are likely to use any bomb they build, both because of ideology and because of fear of Israeli nuclear pre-emption. Thus an Israeli nuclear strike to prevent the Iranians from taking the final steps toward getting the bomb is probable. The alternative is letting Tehran have its bomb. In either case, a Middle Eastern nuclear holocaust would be in the cards.

Iran’s leaders would do well to rethink their gamble and suspend their nuclear program. Bar this, the best they could hope for is that Israel’s conventional air assault will destroy their nuclear facilities. To be sure, this would mean thousands of Iranian casualties and international humiliation. But the alternative is an Iran turned into a nuclear wasteland. Some Iranians may believe that this is a worthwhile gamble if the prospect is Israel’s demise. But most Iranians probably don’t.

Benny Morris, a professor of Middle Eastern history at Ben-Gurion University, is the author, most recently, of “1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War.”

Spiegel "discovers" AlQaeda-sect in Gaza

Der Spiegel interviews leader of Al-Qaeda-sect training in Gaza.

"Jihadi leader: For those who don't want to accept the hegemony of Islam, holy war is the only recipe."

Jihadis operating in Gaza By Ulrike Putz in the Gaza Strip [7/18/08] excerpts

Global power is their goal, and they are willing to slaughter innocents to get there. A group of ultra-radical Islamists [sic] are training in the Gaza Strip, and SPIEGEL ONLINE met with one of their leaders.

….Abu Mustafa holds the key to an ideology that many are turning to in the Gaza Strip: Salafist jihadism, a belief in the most radical form of Islam. [Believe me, Hamas is radical enough -- Mark] "We meet secretly in mosques and private homes," says Abu Mustafa, who has become an entry point to the movement for many. He says the Salafis [in Gaza] now number up to 5,000 people, not counting the women and children. ….

Salafis -- sometimes referred to as Wahhabis -- dream of a world before Islam became cluttered with new innovations and cultural influences. They seek to live a pious, god-fearing life governed by [shariah] the laws of [Islamic] religion, a life resembling those of the original Muslims.

At first glance, such a belief system doesn't differ much from that of other utopian sects -- were it not for their ideas related to holy war [jihad]. To make their vision a reality, Abu Mustafa and his men are willing to fight -- and they are willing to slaughter innocent bystanders.

"Look," says Abu Mustafa, whose beard cascades down his chest, "there will be three possibilities".

"Some will find their way to Islam."

"Those who don't want to convert will be able to live in peace under the authority of Islam." [The dhimma pact requires non-Muslims to live as a submissive minority as long as they pay the jizya tax of subjection, as mandated in the Quran, 9:29 -- Mark]

"For those who don't want to accept the hegemony of Islam, however, holy war [jihad] is the only recipe".

"Then we have to fight -- just like our brothers on Sept. 11," Abu Mustafa says.

....
Salafis from the Gaza Strip first stepped into the global spotlight in March 2007, when jihadis from Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was based in the Gaza Strip. ….

Condolences to the Goldwasser and Regev families

The Jewish Agency is offering the opportunity to send condolences to the bereaved Goldwasser and Regev families. The emails will be forwarded to the families next week, during the course of the Shiva.

Visit the Jewish Agency English homepage, and click on the link to send a condolence letter.

The Jewish Agency has also dedicated a special micro site in memory of the soldiers, www.abducted.org.il

May the families be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Kind to be Cruel

כל מי שנעשה רחמן במקום אכזרי סוף שנעשה אכזרי במקום רחמן

All who are made to be compassionate in the place of the cruel
In the end are made to be cruel in the place of the compassionate
Qohelet Raba, 7:16

The more colloquial version is, “If you are kind to the cruel, you will end up being cruel to the kind.”

Who would have guessed where this aphorism came from? //Mark

(h/t Contentious Centrist)

Palestinian Authority President Abbas sends condolences to families of dead soldiers


Headline adapted from ynetnews report. Published: 07.16.08,

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has congratulated the family of Samir Kuntar and the four other prisoners who will be returned to Lebanon as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hizbullah.

He also expressed his condolences to the families of Hizbullah fighters receiving their relatives' bodies. (Ali Waked)

(h/t yourish.com) [Wait till someone tells him it's useful to send condolences to the Israeli families. -- Mark]

Israel/ Hezbullah Prisoner Exchange Completed:
Abducted Israeli Soldiers, Dead.

Israeli army confirms identities of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers
July 16, 2008. Adapted from debka.com

Hizballah delivered the remains of Eldad Regev, Ehud Goldwasser, whose kidnap triggered the 2006 Lebanon War, Wednesday, July 16, in return for 199 bodies, most of terrorists, and five live prisoners, including Samir Kuntar, the Nahariya murderer. Hizballah delayed informing Israel whether the two soldiers were alive or dead for two years up until the 0900 Wednesday handover.

The five Hizballah prisoners and 199 bodies are on their way to Lebanon, including the Nahariya murderer Samir Kuntar, imprisoned for the brutal murder in 1979 of a 4-year old Israeli girl, her father, a policeman and another civilian. He awaits a heroes’ welcome in Lebanon. Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank joined the celebration.

From Ynetnews.com

Peres: Moral victory is ours.
President Peres slams Lebanon celebrations, stresses differences between Israel, Hizbullah


Olmert: We paid heavy price for captives

Prime Minister Olmert issues official statement, says his heart goes out to captives' families

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued Wednesday evening an official statement after the prisoner swap with Hizbullah was completed. and in the wake of the tragic return of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who returned to Israel in coffins.

"The entire nation of Israel is hugging the mourning Goldwasser and Regev families," the statement read. "We are tearful and our heart goes out to the relatives, who fought tirelessly and did not lose hope until the last moment."

Olmert said "this was a day of removing doubts, certainly in respect to the fate of Udi and Eldad, may they rest in peace, but also with regards to the people of Israel's moral strength."

"Based on this strength, we decided to bring back the boys even at the heavy price of releasing a despicable murderer," he said. "A foreigner wouldn't understand what every Israeli understands well: The mutual responsibility and concern for each one of our soldiers is the glue that connects us as a society."

Olmert added: "The concern for each one of our soldiers is what enables us to survive in an environment surrounded by enemies and terror organizations…woe to the nation that at this time celebrates the release of an animal who crushed the skill of a four-year-old child."

"On this day, my heart goes out to the Goldwasser and Regev families. May the memory of the sons be blessed," the prime minister concluded.

Review Finds Slurs In '06 Saudi Texts
Academy in Fairfax Making Revisions

By Jerry Markon and Ben Hubbard
Washington Post Staff Writers, Tuesday, July 15, 2008; B01

A Saudi-funded academy in Fairfax County used textbooks as recently as 2006 that compared Jews and Christians to apes and pigs, told eighth-graders that these groups are "the enemies of the believers" and diagrammed for high school students where to cut off the hands and feet of thieves, a Washington Post review of the books has found.

Saudi officials acknowledged that the textbooks used at the Islamic Saudi Academy had contained inflammatory material since at least the mid-1990s but said they ordered revisions in 2006. School administrators said that they have been scrambling to change the texts and that all potentially offensive passages will be gone by the coming academic year. But, they said, teachers have always been told to avoid inflammatory material in the classroom.

A sampling of 2006-07 Islamic studies textbooks showed that much of the controversial material had been removed. At least one book still contained passages that extolled jihad and martyrdom, called for victory over one's enemies and said the killing of adulterers and apostates was "justified."

The academy, founded in 1984, has about 1,000 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 and is separated into boys' and girls' schools. It is the only Saudi-funded school in the United States. About 70 percent of the academy's students are U.S. citizens drawn from the region's Muslim communities. About a quarter are Saudi.

The school has leased land from Fairfax for two decades and has been the subject of growing controversy. Last month, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said the academy's textbooks contain passages that advocate violence, less than a year after calling on the State Department to close the school unless it can prove that it is not teaching religious intolerance.

As a small group of protesters gathered recently outside the academy, less than 15 miles from the District, Fairfax officials were weighing what to do about the school's $2.2 million annual lease, which is signed by the Saudi Embassy and is "contingent upon" State Department approval. In May, the county Board of Supervisors extended the lease for another year, the fifth time it has been renewed since 1988, but Fairfax has since asked the State Department to determine whether the county should continue leasing the property to the school.

Fairfax spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald said the county extended the school's lease until 2009 because "there seemed no reason not to" but decided to ask for State Department guidance after the commission report on the textbooks came out. "We're looking at this as a land use case," she said. "We're not capable of determining whether textbooks contain language that promotes violence."

She would not say what the county might do based on any State Department response, but she noted that the lease has a provision saying Fairfax can terminate the agreement if the board determines that is necessary for public "health, safety and welfare." The State Department has not responded to the county, and a department spokesman said late Friday that he was unfamiliar with the letter.

"The content of the books from Saudi Arabia has been a concern, and we have received assurances from the Saudi government that they would review and make changes to the textbooks in Saudi Arabia by the beginning of the 2008 school year," said the spokesman, Gonzalo Gallegos. "We will wait to see what changes have been made."

The debate is befuddling to many affiliated with the academy, which has a graduation rate of nearly 100 percent, sends students to prestigious colleges and trains U.S. soldiers in Arabic -- yet also counts among its alumni Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a 1999 graduate convicted of plotting with al-Qaeda to kill President Bush.

Graduates said that the school taught respect for other religions and that teachers avoided controversial material. The academy has two campuses; the main one is on U.S. 1 south of Alexandria.

"It's just a normal school with one Islamic period during the day. I didn't get any hate teachings out of it or anything that was going to turn me into an extreme mood," said Fatima Abdallah, 29, a 1997 graduate.

Other students said material from the textbooks was sometimes taught in class, although it was unclear how often. "I'm not saying that there wasn't anything that said Islam is the best, everyone else is wrong," said Ahmet Sahin, 31, a 1994 graduate who has worked in Iraq and Kuwait as a Defense Department accounting contractor. "Every religion has that, but there wasn't any emphasis on violent jihad."

The Saudi ambassador to the United States is chairman of the school's board of directors, and the kingdom subsidizes expenses beyond the academy's $3,000 annual tuition for non-Saudi students. Saudi students attend free. Saudi officials said they have little day-to-day involvement in running the academy.

School administrators said teachers were told to keep any inflammatory material out of the classroom. "I taught for 15 years,'' said Dana Nicholas, assistant principal of the girls' school. "I would not have stayed if I thought that my students that were coming into my classroom and dealing with me every day, as a Christian, as a woman, if they were being taught this kind of thing in the Islamic class.''

She is one of numerous non-Muslim staff members at the academy, which was founded in 1984 on the grounds of an old Christian school in Fairfax and moved to the U.S. 1 campus in 1988. Saudi officials said the school was started to educate the children of Saudi diplomats and other Washington area Muslims who had difficulty finding Arabic and Islamic studies programs.

Saudi officials acknowledged that the controversial materials were in the school's Islamic studies textbooks until at least 2006. "We've always conceded there are problems with the textbooks,'' said one Saudi government source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the textbook issue inside the kingdom. "There are some things that shouldn't be taught to children.''

Saudi officials said inflammatory material was gradually added to the kingdom's textbooks starting in the mid-1990s as religious hard-liners gained power in the kingdom's Education Ministry.

For example, an eighth-grade monotheism book from 2005-06 contains a Koranic verse about Allah turning people into apes and pigs. The textbook states in a footnote: "It is said: The apes are the people of the Sabbath, the Jews. The swine are the unbelievers of Jesus' table, the Christians."

In 2006, in reaction to a report criticizing the textbooks by the Center for Religious Freedom of Freedom House and the Institute for Gulf Affairs, the Saudi Embassy ordered changes, Saudi officials said.

In interviews last week at the main location -- a tree-shaded red-brick building with a small sign visible from the road that simply says "ISA" -- administrators said they worked day and night in summer 2006 to carry out the embassy's mandate. Divided into three committees, they revised textbooks by whiting out words, chopping out paragraphs and creating makeshift books. Because the process was hasty, they said, they missed some things, but they have continued the revisions during the past two years and plan to roll out a new line of books this fall.

Faridah Turkistani, the girls' school principal, said: "We were told [to take out] whatever is controversial. 'Think like an American, and if you feel like there is anything that will upset any nationality or any ethnicity or anything, you know, take it out.' ''

She spoke in a room near the school's entryway, where walls bear photographs of Saudi royal family members and Arabic inscriptions, along with a picture of an American flag. Bulletin boards in the school's hallways showcase student government, model United Nations and sports teams.

Another display depicts a veiled girl and a girl wearing a tank top and jeans. The Arabic at the top reads: "Your veil will protect you as the shell protects the pearl."

Even after the 2006 revisions, a 12th-grade Islamic studies textbook used in 2006-07 contained a reference to jihad as "the pinnacle of Islam" and said: "There is no security or stability except in strength and victory over the enemies. In martyrdom in the path of Allah is a type of honorable life."

Amin Bonnah, an assistant professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University, said that jihad can have several meanings, including internal struggle, and that he read the passage "not as a call for jihad but as a call for fighting your enemies."

Bonnah, who reviewed Arabic passages from the academy's textbooks, said that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups would interpret that as fighting America and that the reference to martyrdom "means one thing: to kill for God. . . . Martyrdom is what they are doing in Iraq today or Gaza.''

Nina Shea, a commissioner at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, expressed concern that this and other passages could help radicalize students. Noting that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were Saudi, she said, "Saudi Arabia, of all countries, needs to be quite clear about what's permitted in jihad and what isn't.''

She added that the school's efforts to revise the textbooks have fallen short. "They may have ripped out some pages, but we don't know what they ripped out and whited out, so it's difficult to make any comparisons," she said.

Charles Haynes, senior scholar for religious freedom at the First Amendment Center in the District, said the school "deserves credit for trying to clean up the textbooks. That's a big job, given the long history of these kinds of materials being used in Saudi Arabia. They made an effort. They probably need to do better."

Iranian TV Documentary analyzes the message embedded in "Fiddler on the Roof"

Aired on IRINN TV (Iran) - May 22, 2008 - 00:01:37






Narrator: The film "Fiddler on the Roof" tries to conceal one of the reasons for European and American hatred of Zionism, which was their control of the resources of wealth and power. The film depicts the Zionist immigrants' forefathers as kind and poor people, who immigrated out of poverty, and not out of a desire to occupy [Palestine].

From MEMRITV.org

"Will Israel Bomb Iran?" A BBC documentary about the dangers faced by Israel. (6 ten-minute segments)

(aggregated from Democast TV)

Pat Buchanan Advertises His Book On Neo-Nazi Radio Show

You read that right. On June 29th, MSNBC personality and three-time presidential candidate Pat Buchanan appeared on a neo-Nazi radio program to promote his new revisionist history of the Second World War, Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War: How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World. James Edwards is the host of the program "Political Cesspool," the stated mission of which is to "represent a philosophy that is pro-White." Edwards and his colleauges seek "to revive the White birthrate above replacement level fertility and beyond to grow the percentage of Whites in the world relative to other races" and believe that "Secession is a right of all people and individuals. It was successful in 1776 and this show honors those who tried to make it successful in 1865."

According to the researchers at the Anti-Defamation League, who listened to the show, Buchanan defended Charles Lindbergh, saying, "…his reputation has been blackened because of a single speech he gave and a couple of paragraphs in it where he said that … the Jewish community is beating the drums for war … but frankly, no one has said what he said was palpably untrue."
Buchanan is in good company. Perusing the guest list of Political Cesspool, one sees Willis Carto, (perhaps the most prominent anti-Semite in America), Mark Weber (Director of the Institute for Historical Review, a Holocaust denial outfit) and Jared Taylor, the editor of American Renaissance, a eugenicist publication. A political cesspool indeed. Calling Buchanan a "brownshirt" a few weeks ago may have seemed a little impertinent at the time, but it's entirely accurate.

As someone with an interest in the far-right and who has been following Buchanan's career for quite some time now, none of this is particularly surprising to me. What is surprising is that this man continues to fill airtime on MSNBC.

--James Kirchick
(h/t littlegreenfootballs.com)

A critique of Buchanan's book. ( The review mis-names the Einsatzgruppen)

Israel responds to Palestinian journalist's claim of mistreatment. Grievances investigated, found to be without foundation.

RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS REGARDING MOHAMMED OMER AL-MUGHAIER

(Communicated by the Israel Government Press Office)


In regard to recent media reports about Mohammed Omer al-Mughaier, security sources wish to state:

"Mr. Mohammed Omer al-Mughaier (hereinafter "the Complainant") arrived at the Allenby Crossing on Thursday, June 26, 2008. Due to suspicion that he had been in contact with hostile elements and had been asked by them to deliver items to Judea and Samaria, both he and his baggage were searched. In contradiction to his claims, at no time was the Complainant subjected to either physical or mental violence.

The investigation revealed that the search of his baggage was conducted in the presence of four people and not eight, as he noted. The search was conducted, according to regulations, in a public place and in the view and presence of the Complainant.

The body search, which took several minutes, took place in the presence of two security personnel (a policeman and an ISA official) and was conducted according to the relevant regulations. The Complainant's claims to the effect that he was threatened at gunpoint are baseless.

Regarding the Complainant's collapse, as it were, it should be noted that the paramedic who attended to him found no evidence of a physical cause of collapse. The Complainant's behavior raises doubts as to the sincerity of the situation. In any event, the Complainant was sent to an infirmary and an ambulance was ordered for him.

As to the Complainant's allegation that he was compelled to stand on his feet for twelve hours, we point out that according to our records, the Complainant arrived at the Allenby Crossing at approximately 11:00, and the entire incident ended at approximately 14:00. Thus, this claim is also baseless.

We should point out that there are numerous additional contradictions in the Complainant's allegations. For example, in the media he reported that he was humiliated, stripped and that a gun was held to his head. And yet, in his complaint filed with the IDF Spokesperson, the Complainant claimed that two uniformed personnel sprayed his face.

In conclusion, the Complainant's grievances were investigated and found to be without foundation. At no time was the Complainant subjected to either physical or mental violence; he was treated fairly. We can only regret that his allegations received publicity and a platform without being properly investigated."

Review of Bostom's book by NS Rajaram

It's a monumental study that throws light on the scriptural basis of intolerance and its manifestations in history,

says NS Rajaram in his review of The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History by Andrew Bostom.

Review by NS Rajaram in The Daily Pioneer (India)


Islam, we are constantly told, is a religion of peace and brotherhood. According to this view, terrorists taking innocent lives in its name are either ignorant of the true teachings of Islam or are driven to violence as a last resort because of injustices suffered at the hands of the victims -- Hindus, Jews and Christians. This claim of scriptural innocence and the historical reality are examined in detail in the monumental work, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism, by Andrew Bostom, the compiler of the equally monumental The Legacy of Jihad.


But first we must ask: Can we accept teachings and conduct in the name of religion that would be unacceptable on humanistic grounds? Quranic passages -- "When the sacred months are passed, kill those who join other gods with God (Allah) wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them with every kind of ambush..."; and, "Gather against them all your armies and your horses so you may strike terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies..." -- need to be reinterpreted.


The scope of The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism is broader than what the title suggests. It is better seen as a study of the theology and practice of intolerance than as a study limited to the persecution of Jews under Islamic rule. Unlike Hindus who encountered the full fury of Islam five centuries after its founding, Jews have had to deal with it right from the start in countries stretching from Spain to Iran. We thus have not only the authentic scripture of Islam but also abundant historical records by Jews, Christians and Muslims. These are presented in a systematic manner, allowing us to get a vivid picture of the treatment of non-Muslims.


These records make it clear that there is no middle ground in Islam, of a spirit of live and let live. In the words of the philosopher KD Prithipaul of the University of Alberta (conveyed to this reviewer), Muslims can live only "as an oppressive majority or a turbulent minority". Even the Indian Sufi Shayk-Ahmad Sirhindi wrote: "Whenever a Jew is killed it is for the benefit of Islam." This was long before the creation of Israel.


In spite of this vast and unambiguous record spanning over a thousand years, there is no shortage of 'liberal' intellectuals who extol the tolerance shown by Islam. Economist Amartya Sen wrote that when the "Jewish philosopher Maimonides was forced to emigrate from an intolerant Europe in the 12th century, he found a tolerant refuge in the Arab (Muslim) world". The truth is that the 'intolerant' Europe Maimonides had to flee happened to be Spain then under Berber Muslim rule, which, according to Foujad Ajami, "made the life of Spanish Jews... utter hell".


The depth of hatred for Jews that permeates the Islamic scriptures is truly staggering, but Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) noted also a parallel tendency for denial: "Never did a nation molest, degrade, debate and hate us as much as they (Muslims)... Although we were dishonoured by them beyond human endurance,... we have acquiesced, both old and young, to inure ourselves to humiliation." This could well have been written about Hindus, especially their modern prophets of 'secularism.'


As part of this denial, Jews themselves joined hands with some apologist scholars to create the myth of a 'Golden Age' of Spain under Islamic rule. Jane Gerber explodes this myth: "The aristocratic bearing of a select class of courtiers and poets, however, should not blind us to the reality that this tightly knit circle of leaders was neither the whole of the Jewish history nor of Spanish Jewish society." This applies equally to the myth of India's 'Golden Age' under the Mughals with its 'synthetic culture' propagated by secularist historians.


Academic whitewashers of the Islamic record like Amartya Sen have now been joined by a brand of 'moderate' Muslims who claim that the extreme Wahaabi brand of Islam in force in countries like Saudi Arabia is a deviation from the true teachings. A prime example of these is Ed Husain, a reformed British radical Muslim and author of The Islamist. These 'moderates' are lionised by the establishment, especially in Britain. The same establishment, on the other hand, shuns serious critics like Ibn Warraq and the late Anwar Shaikh who raise uncomfortable questions.


A curious thing about these so-called moderates is that they live in open non-Islamic societies like the UK, the US and India where they enjoy the protection of democratic Governments. Their message of moderation is for public consumption and never taken to those who really need it -- the fundamentalists who rule Saudi Arabia, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and their ilk. In effect, they are little more than apologists.


The message to these 'moderates' is -- lip service is not enough. They must take a forthright stand and play an active role in reforming the Islam. All other religions -- Hinduism included -- have reformed themselves and continue to do so.

In summary, The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism leaves little doubt that intolerance and violence are not a recent phenomenon due to Israel or Ayodhya or anything else, but only the latest phase in a theology and history that goes back 1,400 years. It is an indispensable source for every serious student of religion, especially of Islam and its history.

A Trip Across Israel in Real Time

Filmed by Judith Weiss
Concept, driving and narration by Steve Dzik
Backseat driving by Mary Madigan

During his trip to Israel last year, when the nation was celebrating its 59th birthday, Steve came up with the idea of filming the drive across the entire width of Israel from the West Bank wall to the Mediterranean Sea.

The drive took less than twenty minutes, about the time it takes the average American to commute to work. This demonstrates how small and vulnerable Israel is.


aggregated from solomonia.com

Peres: No chance of peace with PalestiniansBy Yossi Verter

President Shimon Peres believes there is no chance of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Peres, the one-time proponent of a "new Middle East" made this statement last Saturday at a dinner with the Jordanian and French ambassadors in Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Tel Aviv apartment.

At the end of the meal an argument erupted between the Jordanian envoy, Ali Ayed, and a well-known "dovish" attorney, who said Israel had no chance of reaching an agreement with the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas' leadership. Barak supported his guest's hawkish stance.

At a certain point, Peres intervened, surprising the participants by joining the attorney's prediction. "It would be very hard to reach an agreement," Peres said, due to the Hamas-Fatah split.

He said Abbas had no support among his people, no power to carry out security agreements and that any agreement Israel and the PA made crumbled a day later due to the PA's weakness. Therefore there is no chance of agreement, he summed.

Iranian TV 'documentary' series: Jewish Plan for the Genocide of Humanity

How much anti-Semitism coming from Iran is needed to convince folks of the government's intent?

Videotape #1802 - "The Secret of Armageddon" - An Iranian TV "Documentary" Claims That "a Jewish Plan for the Genocide of Humanity," Includes a Conspiracy for the Takeover of Iran by Local Jewish and Bahai Communities [ Material compiled by The Middle East Media Research Institute E-Mail: memri@memri.org website: www.memri.org]




Following are selected excerpts from MEMRI's documentation about "The Secret of Armageddon," an Iranian TV documentary, which aired on IRINN (the Iranian news channel) in May and June 2008:

IRINN, May 11, 2008

Iranian university lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi: What is known worldwide today as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion contains the plans and policies of the elders of this sect to conquer the world and establish a global Jewish government, which were discussed at the 1897 [Zionist] Congress in Basel, Switzerland.

Narrator: These plans, which exposed the views and designs of the Zionists, were edited and collected into 24 protocols. They deal with political, educational, social, economic, and legal strategies, which they planned to use after the destruction of the culture, civilization, and religions of other nations. These strategies will be carried out using dishonorable means and conspiracies, leading to the establishment of a global Jewish kingdom.

[...]

Iranian researcher Shams Al-Din Rahmani: The goal of the Zionists is the total destruction of Islam. They know that this destruction will not be achieved easily, and therefore, they are trying to Americanize the religion of Islam.

[...]

The Zionist Jew-boys talk about a "Greater Israel" – from the Euphrates to the Nile – but their actual goal is world domination.

[...]

IRINN, May 12, 2008

Iranian university lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi:
According to historical documents, it was the Rothschilds who instilled the idea of Palestine as the Promised Land in the minds of the wealthy and enlightened Jews, and insisted on making it happen. At the time, most of the Jews did not have a specific country in mind, and some even considered America or South Africa to be the Promised Land. It was due to the economic and political power of the Rothschilds that this plot was realized.

[...]

The British government, which was controlled by the Zionist empire, led by the Rothschild family, committed itself to the realization of the Zionist aspiration.

[...]

IRINN, May 23, 2008
Narrator: If we take another look at modern history, we realize that with the Balfour Declaration from November 2, 1917, England officially began to serve the World Zionist Organization's policies. Thus, the implementation of some of the main clauses of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion became the agenda of some British politicians, who were connected to the Zionist societies.

[...]

Iranian researcher Shams Al-Din Rahmani: Oliver Cromwell, the dictatorial prime minister of England, placed England entirely at the service of the Jews in the 17th century. This [policy] became so deeply engrained that by the early 18th century, the Jews had a colonialist empire, which reached as far an India. They launched the slave trade, which is a Jewish trade par excellence. Most of the slaves back then were black Muslims from Africa. This was part of their evil plan to eradicate Islam in Africa. This plan was guided entirely by the Jews.

IRINN, May 19, 2008

Iranian historian Mohammad-Taqi Taqipour:

The Zionists and their organizations in Iran devised a plan, which was signed in 1931 by Rabbi Azizullah Naim, chairman of the Iranian Zionist Organization. This plan included eight clauses. In brief, according to this plan, Reza Shah's regime must permit Jews from all over the world to enter Iran and settle wherever they wish, in accordance with the plan that they themselves devised. In addition, these Jewish immigrants would be granted liberties by law, and no one could deny them these liberties. There would be equality between Jews and non-Jews in Iran – most of whom are Muslims. Fertile lands throughout Iran would be allocated to these Jewish immigrants free of charge. After two years, they would be granted citizenship, and a visa from the government also free of charge.

Iranian University Lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi: They planned to take over large parts of Iran, and to establish concealed camps, which would be populated by Jews from around the world, and especially Europe. This way, they wanted to gradually take over Iran, like they did in Palestine.

[...]

Narrator: Is it possible that according to the schemes of the global Zionist empire, Iran was meant to become another Israel, like in the case of Palestine?

[...]


IRINN, May 28, 2008

Iranian university lecturer Ali-Reza Karimi: Historical documents point to a connection between the leaders of the Bahai sect and the Rothschild family, who financed and led the World Zionist Organization.

[...]

The Bahai way of thinking is very similar to that of the Zionist Jews. Just like the Zionists considered Palestine to be their promised land, the Bahais talked about Iran as the promised land. Out of their desire to take over the land and to destroy Islam and the Shia in Iran, they had many dreams and wrote many history books, but with the grace of Allah, none of those dreams have come true.

[...]

Narrator: A shocking SAVAK document, dated April 22, 1971, is just one example of the anti-Islamic and anti-Iranian conspiracies of this Zionist [Bahai] cult. This document quotes one of their leaders in Iran as saying: "We have received explicit instructions from America and London to spread [Western] fashion and immodesty in this country, so Muslim [women] will remove their veil. We will bring suffering upon the Muslims in Iran and other Muslim countries by means of fashion and advertisements, so they will no longer be able to claim that that imam Hussein was the conqueror of the world, and that Ali ruled the world. Weapons and ammunition are manufactured in Israel by our youth. Ultimately, these Muslims will be destroyed by the Bahais, and the world of Bahaullah will flourish."

IRINN, June 5, 2008

Narrator: For many years, Hollywood constituted another aspect of the cultural war. The film industry in the early 20th century was shaped by Jewish immigrants, most of whom belonged to Zionist organizations.

[...]

Iranian researcher Sayyid Hashem Mir-Louhi: Moral corruption will spread wherever these Jew-boys tread. In other words, every Jew-boy believes it is his personal duty to destroy the moral values of other nations, in order to control people's minds and souls. This menacing problem has penetrated American theater and cinema, and is clearly evident.

[...]

Narrator: Thus, a new front against the Islamic revolution is opened. Global imperialism invests billion of dollars and uses a broad distribution network to flood Iran with videos, CDs, and DVDs of the latest vulgar, destructive, Western films with Farsi subtitles. These films are sold cheap to the youth in dark alleys, as well as in broad daylight, in public places. The films spread vulgarity, and feed the youth with the forged Zionist way of thinking, so that in future attacks, they will remain defenseless.

[...]

IRINN, June 7, 2008

Iranian researcher Sayyid Hashem Mir-Louhi: There is a genocidal Zionist Jewish plan for the genocide of humanity at the hand of the Zionist Jew-boys. Even though the Jew-boys sometimes talk about a "Greater Israel," their real goal is world domination.

[...]

Narrator: Today, there are many indications that the "hidden hands" of world Zionism were involved in the 9/11 terrorist attack. According to a large group of Western intellectuals, the Zionists are the real rulers of the United States. According to irrefutable documents published by independent American media outlets, the Zionists used intelligence agents and spies, with the full cooperation of agencies with the country, to carry out this terrorist operation in full view of the world, in order to prepare the ground for taking over Afghanistan and Iraq, and to realize the dream of a greater Israel.